Overcoming defensive miscues, Chicago’s young star is fueling a resurgence with clutch walk-offs and elite power. His league-leading metrics prove he is sparking this Cubs lineup.
Pete Crow-Armstrong has put this Chicago Cubs offense on his back recently.
Since moving up to the top of the lineup, Crow-Armstrong has been on an unreal offensive stretch at the plate. He is slashing .413/.481/.804 with five home runs, three doubles, and nine RBI on his current 11-game hitting streak.
Crow-Armstrong has really thrived in the top two spots in the batting order over the last two weeks. He continues to get on base at a high level and has come up big in key situations.
In Thursday’s win over the Athletics, Crow-Armstrong came through two different times in that game. He hit a towering home run in the sixth inning following an outfield blunder that same inning and then hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning to cap off an impressive comeback.
Then, in Saturday’s win over the Giants, Crow-Armstrong was once again at the forefront of another come-from-behind victory. He tied up the game with a home run in the bottom of the sixth inning and then hit a home run to tie up the game again in the bottom of the ninth inning.
The Cubs were literally down to their last out in that game. The only player who could save this team from losing yet another series was Crow-Armstrong. He proceeded to take a 90.1 mph splitter low in the zone and belt it a Statcast-projected 403 feet to right field.
It’s nice to see Crow-Armstrong get into a groove again at the plate, especially considering he had a few rough defensive performances a couple of weeks ago that seemed to be taking a toll on him.
He had an altercation with a White Sox fan after failing to corral a ball in right-center field on May 17, dropped a routine fly ball against the Brewers on May 19, and let a ball slide under his glove back on May 20 that led to a Little League home run.
But all this might have fueled Crow-Armstrong to perform better. He’s batting .324 with six home runs and 12 RBI since the verbal exchange with the White Sox fan three weeks ago.
There’s no denying just how important the 24-year-old has been for this Cubs team this year. He is now hitting .259 at the plate with 11 home runs, 32 RBI, and 13 stolen bases, and continues to play top-tier defense in center field. Crow-Armstrong currently ranks first among all outfielders in Outs Above Average (11), Runs Prevented (10), and Fielding Run Value (13).
Those strong offensive and defensive numbers give Crow-Armstrong a 3.5 WAR at this point in the season. That 3.5 WAR leads all Cubs players and is tied for the second-highest among all outfielders. Only Andy Pages has a higher WAR at his position (3.8).
Despite all the criticism that Crow-Armstrong gets from around the league, he’s a clear star.
